Ascending and descending device



Feb. 21, 119% A. PASCOO 2,493,445

ASC'ENDING AND DESCENDING DEVICE Filed Sept. 26, 1945 FIG.

INVENTOR ALEX PA-scoo ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 21, 1950 UNITED STATE-S PATENT OFFICE;

AS CEN DIN G AND DESCENDIN G DEVICE Alex Pascoo, New York, N. Y. I

Application September 26, 1945, Serial .N 0. 618,671

This invention relates to new and useful imfor making it easy to move up and down a stairway such load-carrying apparatus as hand-trucks, wheel barrows, baby carriages and the like.

The object of the invention is to provide the load-carrying apparatus with an attachment which will permit it to easily, quickly, and with relatively .small effort be moved along a stairway in a smooth manner and with the member at all times out of contact with the steps of the stairway so that there are not the usual bumps and jerks and vibrations so common in the ordinary conditions of such a maneuver.

Further and more specific objects, features, and advantages will more clearly appear from :a consideration of the specification hereinafter especially when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate several preferred forms and uses of the invention and which form part of the specification.

In very brief and general terms, the invention concerns the movement of a load-carrying member or body portion up or down a series of steps. To the body portion is attached a plurality of pivotally rotatable elements generally in the form of lifting legs or spokes which seriatim are constructed and adapted to engage successive steps of the stairway to cause the body portion to swing in an are over the edge of the steps of the stairway. As one leg thus effects the over-swing of the body portion another leg is positioned to initiate the next swing and so on until the entire series of steps have been passed over.

More particularly the spokes or legs are radially disposed with respect to a central pivot point or axis and generally there are four spokes. The legs or spokes are of a length slightly greater than the height of the step riser and width of the thread thereof. The spokes may be disposed on the body portion in any desired location. In a hand truck they may be pivoted slightly above the bottom of the handle portion thereof; in a wheel barrow they may be attached at the front in place of the wheel; in a baby carriage they may be disposed pivotally on arms which can be swung down into an operative position when desired and swung up out of the way when not in use; but in all of these instances the legs when in operative position will in their lowermost position extend well below the lowermost portion of the body to whichthey are attached. In most cases, although not necessarily so, the legs have 2 Claims. (Cl. 280-29) rollers on their outer ends to facilitate their movement along the surfaces with which they come into contact to reduce friction. v

Preferred forms of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, of which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a baby carriage provided with the invention showing the attach.- ment in the operative position in dotted lines and in inoperative position in full lines.

Figure :2 is a horizontal cross section taken on the line 3- 3 cfFigure 1.

Figure 3 is a detail view of the latch member for holding the attachment to the baby carriage in one position or the other. f I 1 Referring to Figures 1 to 3 the invention is shown applied to a baby carriage 35. In this instance two arms 36 are suitably connected .to disks or plates 31 loosely pivoted to turn around the front wheel shaft 38 of the carriage and at their outer ends support a shaft 39 supporting two sets of radiating legs 25 in the manner above set forth. The plates 31 are provided each with spaced notches 40 into which are adapted to extend the opposite ends of a latch bar 4| the midpoint of which is connected to a slide bar 42 the other end of which is connected to the arm 43' of a manipulatable rod 43 which extends upward through a bearing 43a on one of the handle bars 46 at the back of the carriage to a point convenient to the hand of the person pushing the carriage. On its upper end the rod has a handle 44. The bar 42 is urged forward by a spring 48 compressively disposed between a lug 45 on the bar 42 and a similar lug 46' on a bracket plate 49 mounted on the rear axle of the carriage. A rod 41 connected to lug 45 supports the spring and slides in a hole in the lug 46'. By turning the handle 44 the operator may pull back the latch bar 4| and move the set of legs 25 to either of the two positions shown. In moving the carriage up or down the steps it will be seen that the body of the carriage may be maintained in a level position so that the baby may remain therein at no danger to itself and the usual embarrassing jerks and bumpy movement is therefore avoided.

When the member comprising the legs 25- is in the position shown in Figure 1, the latch bar 4| is in the notch shown at the left of Figure 3 of each of the plates 31. The arms 36 are thus held up and the rollers 26 are kept clear of the ground. When the arm 44 is operated to pull back the bar 42, the latch bar 4| is withdrawn. The leg members 25 then drop until a projection 31a. on each plate 31 is engaged by the latch bar 4|, and actuation of the arm 44 now moves the latch bar While the invention has been described in detail and with respect to present preferred forms which 7 it may assume, it is not to be limited to'such details and forms since many changes and modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention in its broadest aspects. Hence it is-desired to cover any and all forms and modifications of the invention which may come within the language or scope of any one or more of the appended claims.

Having thus describedthe invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

,1. A device for moving a carriage along stairways which comprises a body portion, a series of pivoted rotatable relatively rectangularly disposed legsaround a pivot axis on the carriage, said axis being disposed on arms pivoted to the body portion and movable from one position to another to dispose the legs in operative and inoperative positions, said legs adapted when in operative position seriatim to be disposed with their outer ends in the inner corner of successive steps to permit the carriage to be swung in a horizontal position around them as pivot levers from one step to the next and out of contact therewith, and m'anu ally operable means to latch the legs in oiie position or the other.

2. Adevice for moving a carriage along inclined stairways comprising steps one above another, said carriage having axles at the front and back with shoulder, a latch bar to engage said notches to hold the said leg members in raised or lowered position, a handle adjacent the rear of the carriage, and connections including a slide bar between said handle and the latch bar to cause the latch bar to be engaged with or disengaged from said notches.

ALEX PAsooo.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patentr' UNITED .sTATEs PATENTS Number 1 Name Date 255,693 Tauber Mar. 28, 1882 849,270 "Schafer et al Apr; 2,1907 119L394 Brown et a1 July 18, 1915 1,551,127 Whyel Aug. 25,1925) 2,400,824 Jackson May 21, 19 16 ,1 OREIGN PATENTS Number I Country Date j 134,173 Great Britain Oct. 30, 1919 385,014 -Germany Nov. 12, 1923 811,457

France Jan. 18, 1937 

